Rick Springfield

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Rick Springfield:
□ Over 18 Million Records sold worldwide.

□ 17 Top 40 Hits to date, including more than 5 in the Top 10, and the #1 smash pop hit "Jessie's Girl"

□ High energy performances live in concert for multi-millions of fans spanning the last three decades.
• 1949 Richard Lewis Springthorpe born in Merrylands, Sydney, Australia to Norman and Eileen Springthorpe
• 1959 Springthorpe family moves to England (father's military career is the culprit)
• 1959 Rick becomes interested in history. Plays "gladiator" in backyard in England. (precursor of Gladiator play in 2001).
• 1962 Rick's 13th Birthday...is given his first guitar as a gift
• 1962 Meets John Kennedy, of Me and Johnny fame
• 1964 John and Rick form "Icy Blues", Rick's first foray into performing music
• 1967 Rick leaves high school and is asked by Pete Watson to join Rock House
• 1968 Rock House becomes MPD, Ltd and is hired to play gigs in Vietnam
• 1969 Rick returns from Vietnam in February of this year
• 1969 Rick is one of the founding members the short lived Wickedy Wak along with Paul Shannon (bass, vocals) and Danny Finley (drums) from MPD....later adding a keyboardist named Ray Wight.
• 1969 Zoot welcomes Rick as guitarist and vocals in the fall of 1969.
• 1970 Rick scores Oz celebrity in Zoot.
• 1971 Speak to the Sky recorded solo, reaching Top Ten in Australia.
• 1972 Rick moves to USA on wave of solo success with "Speak to the Sky"
• 1973 Rick records the pop masterpiece, "Comic Book Heroes" in London.
• 1974 Rick records the "Springfield" album; breaks with managers and the record is never released.
• 1974 "Mission Magic", a cartoon on ABC, is created to showcase Rick's music, and further solidifies Rick as a pop songwriting master.
• 1976 Chelsea Records releases "Wait For Night" and the record company folds soon after.
• 1978 Rick takes on acting contract with Universal and appears on several hit shows: Rockford Files, Wonder Woman, Battlestar Galactica.
• 1978 Rick begins writing what will become "Working Class Dog".
• 1979 RCA signs contract with Rick to record "Working Class Dog". Rick argues with them on cover art, finally winning out with his unusual Ronnie cover.
• 1981 With release of "Working Class Dog" in doubt, Rick signs with General Hospital as Dr. Noah Drake.
• 1982 Rick wins a Grammy for Best Male Vocal Performance for the #1 Hit "Jessie's Girl" as "Working Class Dog" goes multi-platinum.
• 1982 Rick's next release, aptly titled, "Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet" is released and also goes multi-platinum.
• 1983 As acting/touring schedules conflict Rick leaves General Hospital and releases the harder edged "Living In Oz" which becomes Rick's third straight platinum selling album.
• 1983 Rick wins the American Music Award for "Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist".
• 1984 "Hard To Hold", Rick's first feature length film, is released in theatres.
• 1984 Hard to Hold soundtrack produces the Top Ten Hit "Love Somebody".
• 1985 Rick releases his fifth album in five years, "Tao". The Cathode Ray tour, including a performance at Live Aid, follows.
• 1985 Rick ends the tour in time for the birth of his first son, Liam.
• 1986 Rick performs "My Father's Chair" live on American Bandstand's 25th Anniversary special. It would be his last live performance for several years.
• 1988 After a 2 year hiatus from touring and recording, Rick releases "Rock Of Life".
• 1988 Just prior to the scheduled tour to promote "Rock Of Life", Rick crashes his ATV and shatters his collarbone. One promotional performance on "Top of the Pops" is not enough to promote the album. Unable to hold a guitar for six months, he cancels the tour.
• 1989 Rick's son Joshua is born. Rick begins work on a series of TV movies for both regular and TV networks.
• 1993 At friend and original drummer Jack White's urging, Rick embarks on a short summer club tour. Longtime fans greet him with open arms.
• 1994 Rick signs on as Mick Barrett, one of a pair of brother detectives portrayed on the syndicated series "High Tide". He moves the family to New Zealand for filming.
• 1995 Season two of "High Tide" is filmed much closer to home in San Diego.
• 1996 The third and final season of "High Tide" is filmed in Santa Barbara. Rick is eager to get back to his music.
• 1997 Rick reengages with fans at the Tucson Tennis Classics and performs live for the first time in several years. Friend and drummer Jack White appears again for the performance.
• 1997 "Sahara Snow", Rick's first collaborative work since his Zoot days, is released overseas. Loyal fans hungry for new music gobble up the discs and force a second pressing.
• 1998 Rick begins a tour to promote the album "Karma", which while slated for release in 98, ends up not being available until the following year.
• 1999 VH1's "Behind the Music" profiles Rick's career to date.
• 1999 Rick releases "Karma" in April and continues touring to promote the disc. While venues fill and sell out, the disc flounders under the record company Platinum Records. When the company folds later, fans are disappointed that the disc does not reach it's full potential.
• 2000 Rick spends this year touring and promoting "Karma". Fan interest is so high, he releases an early Limited run of his upcoming live disc, "The Greatest Hits Alive". Spots on TV, including a concert broadcast on the Today show, ensue.
• 2000 In December of this year, Rick announces he has signed on to star in the Las Vegas show, EFX. The MGM Grand renames the show EFX Alive in honor of the new star, and Rick pens two original tunes for the show.
• 2001 Rick debuts in EFX Alive and releases the street version of "The Greatest Hits Alive," on Universal's Hip-O label.
• 2002 Rick closes his EFX Alive run on New Year's Eve after nearly two years in the role.
• 2003 Rick hits the ground running, recording his latest release, "shock/denial/anger/acceptance" in winter and spring.
• 2004 Rick releases "shock/denial/anger/acceptance" in February of 2004, on his own "Gomer Records" label with a national tour soon following. "s/d/a/a" garners much critical acclaim and is felt to be Rick's edgiest record to date. The record debuts at #8 on the Top Independent Albums chart and #22 on Top Internet Album Sales chart. To meet the high demand, the "Shock Tour" is extended well into winter 2005.
• 2005 A&E's "Rick Springfield: Behind The Image" documentary on Rick's career thus far is released on DVD worldwide.
• 2005 Rick performs to a sold-out crowd at the majestic Cornado Theater in Rockford, IL for a special high definition concert to be aired on HD-Net and eventual DVD release. Rick continues to record for his next release, titled, "The Day After Yesterday".
• 2005 Rick releases the track listing for "The Day After Yesterday", a warm and soulful record of songs Rick says he "wished he'd written." "Broken Wings", the first single from "The Day After Yesterday" is released to radio.
• 2005 Sony/BMG releases "Written In Rock - Anthology" a 42 track retrospective of Rick's work to date spanning 1970 to 2005. The double-disc set, which features rare photos and extensive liner notes by culled from interviews with noted rock historian Ken Sharp, marks the first time Rick is personally involved with all aspects of a greatest hits collection bearing his name.
• 2005 Rick embarks on another nation tour to promote "The Day After Yesterday" with dates book through the end of 2005. The release date for the CD is July 12th, 2005 set to coincide with an appearance on ABC's Good Morning America as well as Regis and Kelly.
• 2005 Rick releases the Limited Edition of "The Day After Yesterday". Limited to only 2,500 copies the 3 disc set is made available only to fans online.
• 2005 Rick returns as “General Hospital’s” Dr. Noah Drake, the role he originated nearly 25 years ago for an initial 4 episodes will more episodes pending. His first airdate will be December 2, 2005 the same night Rick is to play to a sell-out crowd a New York City's new Nokia Theater. Rick also performs live on ABC TV's The View on Dec, 1, 2005.
• 2006 Rick performs live on ABC to open the 33rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards and receives standing ovation from the live TV audience.
• 2006 Sony/BMG releases "Working Class Dog" Expanded Edition featuring a remastered original tracks plus 3 bonus tracks, expanded liner notes including commentary from Rick.
• 2006 Rick releases the "Live In Rockford" DVD filmed during a sold-out show at the legendary Coronado Theater in Rockford, IL
• 2007 Rick performs his newest song, "Who Killed Rock-N-Roll" in his live set as writing begins for his next studio record.
• 2007 Rick performs a portion of one of the songs for his forthcoming Christmas record to fans during his 5 night stand in Milwaukee as well performing a bit of "Take A Hand" from the "Wait For Night" album for the first time in over 30 years.
• 2007 Prior to his show in Baltimore, Rick takes time to spend with injured US military personnel at Bethesda Veterans Hospital.
• 2007
Rick returns to his native Australia to perform for the first time since coming to the US in 1972 for a series of shows as part of the Countdown Spectacular.
• 2007
Rick performs on General Hospital for the first time on August 24 as his character Noah Drale "stands in" for Rick's dual character, rocker Eli Love. Rick performs the new track, "Who Killed Rock-N-Roll" which is simultaneously released on itunes.
• 2007 Rick releases "Christmas WithYou", and record of Christmas classics, as well as the origianl somng, "Christmas With You" with proceeds going to the Gold Star Mothers, supporting the families of sons and daughters killed in the line of duty.
• 2007 The innaugural "Rick Springfield & Friends" cruise with fans and special guest from music and acting nears a complete sell-out.
• 2008 Rick appears on Oprah for the first time, performing 2 songs to a standing room only audience.
• 2008 Rick releases "Venus In Overdrive", his first studio record since 2004's critically acclaimed"shock/denial/anger/acceptance". Written with bassist Matt Bissonette, the album is called "the son of Working Class Dog".
• 2008 In a media storm to promote "Venus In Overdrive", Rick performs on Good Morning America, Regis & Kelly, Fox & Friends, The CBS Early Show and on General Hospital to promote "Venus In Overdrive" and the first single, "What's Victoria's Secret?"